Getting a No. 1 single will be a stream come true as digital music gets included in rankings

For decades, the prized No.1 spot in the singles chart was given to the artist who sold the most copies of their track.

But from next month, streaming will be included for the first time, which means the songs on Spotify or Napster could decide who takes the crown.

A song must be played for at least 30 seconds to qualify. Controls will also be in place to stop users playing tracks on repeat to manipulate the chart.

The Official Charts Company revealed that 100 streams will be the equivalent of one download or purchase.

Chief executive Martin Talbot said: ‘Just as [the chart] has evolved through the years to reflect the most popular music in Britain, from 10in to 7in, vinyls to cassingles, CD singles to downloads, this is the latest stage of that progression.’

The move – which has the backing of the music industry – reflects the demand for streams. In the year to January, plays each week doubled to 200million.

And that figure continues to rise – on average, 228 million plays a week have been recorded so far this year, reaching an all-time peak of 268million.

Get Lucky by Daft Punk was the first track to attract a million streams in seven days – an achievement beaten by Clean Bandit, whose track Rather Be managed to secure 1.5million.

In this week’s chart news – which did not account for streaming – The X Factor finalist Ella Henderson saw debut single Ghost stay at No.1 for a second week. Meanwhile, Lana Del Rey hit No.1 in the album chart with new entry Ultraviolence, her third record.